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The Greek island of Kos is a fascinating place steeped in history but for us it will always be remembered for the anxiety and stress caused by officialdom there. We were checking out of Greece to go to Turkey as our 90 days visa free Schengen period was well over – due in large part…

Our trip through the Greek Islands was almost over – one more stop after Amorgos and we would arrive at Kos where we were hoping for a smooth check out of Greece and finally be on our way to Turkey. We wished we could have stayed longer but the Greek authorities were adamant – we…

I wrote about falling in love with the Greek island of Amorgos in my last blog but had left the highlight of our short stay – the Monastery of Panagia Hoziviotissa – until I could write about it separately. This miraculous edifice hangs off the side of an enormous cliff 300 metres above the sea.…

When the world seems to shine like you’ve had too much wine That’s amore” 🎵🎶 Travelling around the fabulous Greek Island of Amorgos in our ultra small hire car, this old song kept playing round and round in my head – only with the word “Amore”(love) substituted by “Amorgos”. Amorgos, the Easternmost island of the…

It seemed such a shame to have to leave the wide and beautiful bay of Ormos Agiou Ioannou on Paros after only one night but we had to get out of Greece quickly or possibly face fines for overstaying (even though for two and a half months we were required to stay put because of…

Encouraged by the friendly Port Policeman on the island of Paros – who told us to take our time getting to Kos – we decided to hire a car and tour the island before continuing our journey to check out to go to Turkey. Before we set off, we were visited by Adonis, a mechanic…

It was so wonderful to be on the move after two and a half months lockdown in Alimos Marina, Athens, but we didn’t have time to linger and really get to know each of the islands we anchored at as our 90 days Schengen visa period was well and truly over and we had to…

After an unexpectedly wonderful sail from the unspoilt Greek island of Kythnos we arrived at our next destination – Serifos – in the early afternoon and anchored in a large, completely empty, bay called Ormos Koutsla. The bay was pretty enough but rather desolate and lonely. There were the remains of iron ore mines and…

Reluctantly we left the lovely island of Poros as we had to start our journey to Kos where we needed to checkout of Greece and travel to Turkey. Unfortunately all our efforts to extend the 90-day Schengen visa free period had failed and we had been threatened with a 600 Euro fine (each) for overstaying.…

After the last minute scramble to drop our lines and leave Alimos Marina in Athens, it was such a relief to be heading out towards Poros Island just under thirty nautical miles away from the mainland. Amazingly we negotiated the tight exit with no really heart stopping moments and we were soon on our way…

After almost three months stuck in Alimos Marina we have at last broken free and are now sitting at anchor off the island of Poros, just 30 nautical miles from Athens. We keep pinching ourselves to make sure this isn’t a dream – but it’s true, we really have managed to drop our lines and…

During the second month of coronavirus lockdown in a marina in Athens, we started to develop a “new normal” – long joint video chats at the weekend with our son and daughter and partners, chaotic Zoom sessions with my extended family (20 – 25 of us at a time with a range of ages from…

We were so relieved to have made it to our new home – the good ship Sunday – waiting patiently for us in Alimos Marina in Athens, Greece. Fortunately we just made it with a day or so to spare as only a day – maybe two -later, all Greek borders were closed and flights…

Our fabulous family long weekend at the beautiful manor house near Stratford-on-Avon was sadly over and we all went our separate ways across England and in our daughter Hannah and her partner Pieter‘s case, back to the Netherlands. We had planned a few more days in England before taking the ferry back to France and…

Having been in lockdown for a full six weeks you’d think that I would have had plenty of time to catch up with my blog, but alas, no. Perhaps the memories of the freedom we had (until recently) to gallivant around Europe is just too difficult to recall in our present circumstances. Maybe it’s just…

A peaceful stroll with friends across the undulating grassy fields surrounding the tiny Wiltshire village of Berwick Saint John was abruptly interrupted when we became aware of a dull rhythmic rumbling – a thundering sound that was relentlessly drawing closer and closer towards us. Then we heard the sound of joyous barking. Suddenly over the…

Our adventure through Northern Spain, Portugal and Gibraltar had been marvellous but we had a big family party to attend in England so it was time to start the long drive back to catch the ferry in Cherbourg, France. The first part of the trip took us from La Linea in Spain, on the border…

We hadn’t seen enough of Portugal but definitely wanted to visit Gibraltar before heading back to England for a huge family celebration. So we found ourselves bidding a premature “farewell” to Portugal, crossing into Spain and heading straight for the Spanish border town (with Gibraltar) of La Linea de la Concepción. On the way we…

For thousands of years it was believed that the rugged and forbidding Cape Saint Vincent (Cabo de São Vicente) in Sagres, Portugal, was the end of the world. It’s really not surprising as this wild and wind blown spot, with 75 metre high cliffs, is the most southwesterly point of mainland Europe. Beyond that point…

Our next port of call after delightful Sesimbra was Sines, birthplace and home of the renowned Portuguese explorer Vasco Da Gama, commander of the first European ships to reach India in the 15th Century. On the road from Sesimbra to Sines we were delighted to see – for the first time ever as far as…

We had arrived in Sesimbra in Portugal at the dead of night so when we woke in the morning it was wonderful to discover that our parking spot had the most magnificent panoramic view of the Atlantic ocean. Behind us we could see a lighthouse that was apparently built within the walls of a 17th…

We were travelling south from A Coruña to seek warmer weather and were keen to make it to lovely sunny Portugal after having all sorts of wintery weather while in Northern Spain (including snow!). Before heading over the border however, we decided to make a quick diversion to the fascinating city of Santiago de Compostela.…

Our extremely peaceful night in the lonely car park By the beach on the outskirts of Cudillero in Northern Spain was suddenly interrupted by joyful but piercing birdsong at the crack of dawn. Although it was only the end of January is sounded as though spring had sprung already. Sleep was no longer an option…

Our heads buzzing from the fascinating Human Evolution museums in Burgos and Altermira, we decided it was time to head for the coast and enjoy some salty air. Santander, a port city, is the capital of Cantabria in Northern Spain, has a large university and boasts some beautiful beaches. It is also very hilly! There…

So many of our best travel experiences have been unplanned and have been all the more wonderful for it. Take Frias, Spain’s smallest city, for example (see previous blog update). We had found a brief reference to this gem of a place in an article about Northern Spain. Later we found ourselves nearby and diverted…

There was a dramatic change of scenery as we travelled towards magical Frias – a “hidden gem” purported to be the world’s third smallest city. The scenery was very rugged on the road to Frias Up through a towering escarpment, driving between forbidding craggy cliffs and in dark tunnels drilled through immovable rock formations –…

Like migrating swallows we decided to head south from the Netherlands towards the (supposedly) warmer climes of Northern Spain. We had thoroughly enjoyed a month with our daughter Hannah and son-in-law-to-be Pieter, but there is only so long that you can disrupt other people’s lives without outstaying your welcome! Besides, our feet were beginning to…

Almost four years ago, after sadly waving goodbye to good friends we had met sailing, I wrote in my Salty Tales blog: “That’s the thing about cruising, there are always too many goodbyes but then, when, and often where, you would least expect it you have delightful and unexpected reunions.” Well never a word more…

After all the eating and drinking over Christmas we needed to get some exercise to walk off the extra calories we had consumed so we headed to the Berge Bos a large, wild, park with lakes and woodland just outside Rotterdam and just a few minutes away in the car from where our daughter and…

After a four-day marathon drive from Athens in Greece, we had happily arrived in Pijnacker in The Netherlands just in time for the lead up to Christmas. Our first Dutch Christmas experience was the Royal Christmas Fair in The Hague (Den Haag) – the seat of the Netherlands Government and the International Court of Justice.…

It was with mixed emotions that we were closing up our newly acquired Lagoon Catamaran “Sunday” and leaving Greece to have Christmas in the Netherlands. We were so looking forward to seeing our daughter and partner and sharing the joy of a European Christmas with them but of course it was sad to leave our…

Back in Alimos Marina in Athens after a lovely few days cruising a handful of Greek islands on our newly acquired Lagoon 420 catamaran, it was time to get some important projects happening before we left Athens for the almost 3,000 kilometre road trip back to spend Christmas with our daughter and partner in Pijnacker,…

After 24 hours with our instructor Igor, who gave us, among other things, some tuition on how to tie up Sunday, our newly acquired catamaran, in the ‘Mediterranean style’, we let go our lines, pulled up the anchor and motored out of the busy port of Aegina, an island close to Athens in Greece. We…

At last Sunday, a ten year-old ex-charter Lagoon 420 catamaran, was ours! Now to get to know her and make this floating apartment ours! First stop was IKEA just outside Athens Airport (the nearer one to Alimos Marina had a height restriction so we couldn’t park there in our campervan). Unlike our most recent IKEA…

What a glorious sight to wake up to! We were free camping in Delphi – once regarded as the centre of the world and you can see why! (For more on our Delphi adventure see https://saltytalesfrombalihai.com/2019/11/24/the-inexplicable-mystique-of-delphi/) We decided to drive down the mountain to take a closer look at the coastline which we could see…

Finally we had arrived at Alimos Marina in Athens to complete the purchase of “Sunday”, a Lagoon 420 which we had originally found on the Internet, viewed in March, and having been impressed with her condition, paid a deposit on the purchase, pending a successful survey and sea trial Now we were back, having made…

After an unforgettable couple of days in Rome we set off towards Brindisi in southeastern Italy where we planned to catch a ferry to Igoumenitsa in Greece and from there drive to Athens to complete the purchase of our Lagoon 420 catamaran. It was an exciting time but nerve wracking too. Why nerve wracking? Well…

Our second day in Rome was as packed as the first one – if not more so. Having walked more than ten kilometres the previous day we managed to walk even further on day two. The first (but unplanned) stop was at the 17th Century Palazzo Barberini which houses the Galleria Nazionale d’Arte Antica, the…

The trip from the tiny country of San Marino to the sprawling and busy metropolis of Rome where we were meeting our good Brisbane friends Cathy and Peter, was surprisingly lovely. We drove through the snappily named “Parco Nazionale delle Foreste Casentinesi, Monte Falterona, Campigna” on an amazing roadway elevated above the forest floor. We…

After a trip down memory lane in thedelightful town of Wareham we paid a visit to our good friends Mike and Sheila in Bournemouth, Dorset before heading to the West Sussex town of Arundel where we had a very brief visit earlier in the year and vowed to return to take a closer look. Arundel…

The tiny English village (one pub, one church, no shop) of Tichborne deep in the Hampshire countryside has a curious connection with our home country, Australia. It was the centre of a cause célèbre that had captivated Victorian England in the 1860s and 1870s. The affair involved a butcher from Wagga Wagga who claimed to…

Is there a collective noun for motor homes or campervans? What would you suggest? A drive, a herd, a colony? A caravan, a wagon train, a nuisance? What about a meander, a journey or a wander? A hold-up, a fleet or a flotilla? Whatever you would like to call them, when we arrived in Honfleur…

Wherever you live in the world it is quite likely that the only time you get to visit local attractions is when you have visitors (preferably from overseas). In our case, we were only temporary residents in Brisbane, Australia, but during our short stay we had the pleasure of showing our daughter’s partner Pieter, from…

It’s always great to fly into Brisbane and be greeted by our son and (now) daughter-in-law who so generously make us welcome to their beautiful home in the trees. It was especially good on this occasion as we were back to attend their wedding (after eleven years of living together!). We arrived just a few…

It was so lovely to be back in the Netherlands – the most sane place in Europe I reckon! The keyword there is inclusion – a good quality of life for all. Maybe it isn’t like this everywhere in this small nation but where my daughter lives in Pijnacker near Delft, social housing is integrated…

For many sailors the port of Whitby in Yorkshire, England, is a place of pilgrimage – for it was there that the venerated explorer, navigator and cartographer, Captain James Cook served his seaman’s apprenticeship with ship owner John Walker. Cook, along with other apprentices, lived with the Walker family in a small cottage overlooking the…

Our journey from Garve in the Highlands of Scotland back over the border to England started on a rainy and misty day, certainly not the best travelling weather. However, we had already decided to go back to the pretty port of Ullapool where we had enjoyed dinner the previous night, so the first leg of…

On an elevated rock overlooking an inlet on the eastern shore of a sea loch on the Isle of Skye, Dunvegan Castle stands proudly surveying the spectacular vista below. It was no surprise therefore, to find out that this strategic spot – the ancestral seat of the ancient MacLeod Clan – has been a fortified…